Daily Archives: August 9, 2016

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Seeking After God

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Luke 12:29-34

Pursuing God through His Son Jesus is to be our highest aim. It requires an attitude of wholeheartedness, diligence, persistence, confidence, and humility. To seek Him, what actions can we take?

First, we need to study the Scriptures. A structured, ongoing examination of them will cause our faith to grow and provide what we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). Next, we must maintain an active prayer life. Prayer is conversation with God—it includes both speaking and listening. Third, we are to meditate, which involves prayerful consideration of what we read in the Word. This means digesting a passage of Scripture verse by verse and asking the Lord questions about what it means. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will gain understanding of its application to life. This process helps us absorb His truths so we can live by them.

As we assimilate scriptural principles, we gain wisdom. It becomes easier to identify where the Lord is at work and to evaluate our circumstances in light of His character and plan. We will also recognize when we are to act. As we listen to messages based on God’s Word, we will grow in the Lord. Listening includes a desire to hear, a willingness to act, and a determination not to be distracted. Lastly, we should observe how God is working in others’ lives, which will be an encouragement to us as well.

God promises to reward our seeking. Sometimes we will be blessed with greater understanding, at other times with inexplicable joy. Best of all, seeking always leads to finding Him (Jer. 29:13).

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 4-5

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Who Will Tell Them?

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Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 77–78; Romans 10

Our Savior . . . has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 2 Timothy 1:10

World War II had ended. Peace had been declared. But young Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda of the Japanese Imperial Army, stationed on an island in the Philippines, didn’t know the war had ended. Attempts were made to track him down. Leaflets were dropped over his location, telling him the war was over. But Onoda, whose last order in 1945 was to stay and fight, dismissed these attempts and leaflets as trickery or propaganda from the enemy. He did not surrender until March 1974—nearly 30 years after the war had ended—when his former commanding officer traveled from Japan to the Philippines, rescinded his original order, and officially relieved Onoda of duty. Onoda finally believed the war was over.

When it comes to the good news about Jesus Christ, many still haven’t heard or don’t believe that He has “destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). And some of us who have heard and believed still live defeated lives, trying to survive on our own in the jungle of life.

Will you tell someone the good news today?

Someone needs to tell them the glorious news of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Initially, they may respond with skepticism or doubt, but take heart. Imagine the freedom they’ll find when Christ illumines their mind with the knowledge that the battle has been won.

Lord, help me to keep an open heart to listen to others and to share about what You have done.

Will you tell someone the good news today?

INSIGHT:

When we hear the word ministry we often associate it with a vocation or certain church-related activities that we perform individually—“my ministry is this or that.” But Paul is telling the church at Corinth that they all have the same ministry: “through God’s mercy we have this ministry” (2 Cor. 4:1). So what is this universal ministry Paul is calling the church to? The Greek word translated “ministry” in this passage is commonly rendered “waiting at tables.” Paul is talking about service. All Christians are called to a lifestyle of service that witnesses to and communicates the good news of Jesus.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Consuming Christ

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In 2015, Americans spent 608 minutes of every day online. That’s almost 11 hours per day.(1) Of those 11 hours, at least an hour a day is given to online shopping.(2) I wish I could claim immunity from this statistic. I need a particular book, but then I begin to look at other products, like a new camera or a new outfit or piece of jewelry. Before we know it, we’ve spent an entire afternoon shopping for whatever is the latest and greatest product.

While some might feel great about finding the best deal after hours of comparison-shopping, I feel overwhelmed by the loss of several hours of the little bit of time I have in each day for leisure. In addition, I am suspicious that the more I indulge my desire to satisfy my purchasing power the more my identity becomes that of a purchaser. As Annie Leonard notes in The Story of Stuff: “Our primary identity has become that of being consumers—not mothers, teachers, or farmers, but of consumers. We shop and shop and shop.”(3)

How did we become a culture of consumers in the West? What began as a period of unparalleled optimism and prosperity in the United States, in particular, following World War II became a national obsession. Retailing analyst, Victor Lebow, expressed the solution for converting a war-time prosperity into a peace-time economy of growth and abundance: “Our enormously productive economy…demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption…. [W]e need things consumed, burned up, replaced, and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.”(4) In addition, the chairman of President Eisenhower’s council of economic advisors stated: “The American economy’s ultimate purpose is to produce more consumer goods.”(4)

Of course, the ever-accelerating rate of consumption as the main driver for an economy raises many questions. Is growth the only goal, the necessary goal of economies? Should the ultimate goal of the economy be mass consumption? Or can economies foster the creation of better societies regardless of monetary growth? However one answers these questions, it doesn’t take an expert to see the impact of consumerism on human societies. In the West, ours is a throw-away society, where what we currently have today is passé tomorrow. More insidious, of course, is the way in which a consumptive-economy works to make us feel inadequate if we do not have the latest and greatest shoes, clothes, cars, tools, technology, or gadgets.

Sadly, a consumer-driven mentality is not limited to the buying and selling of goods. It becomes a way in which we understand every transaction including how and where we worship. The seemingly casual language about “church shopping” belies the depth of a consumer mindset. It becomes more and more difficult to see the church as the present day representation of Jesus Christ; we are members of this organic body entrusted with mission and witness in the larger society. Instead, consumerism tempts people of faith to view religion and the worship of God as a product to be consumed. The faithful become “shoppers” examining who offers the best product. Following Jesus looks more like a marketing strategy for a better life, marriage, kids, etcetera, and we ‘shop’ until we find the latest and greatest product.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Consuming Christ →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Handling Possessions Properly

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“‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth’” (Matthew 6:19).

A true believer is not to hoard earthly possessions.

You may remember this old adage: “The miser says coins are flat that they may rest in stacks; the spendthrift says they are round that they may roll.” In Matthew 6:9 Jesus is specifically talking about the miser. The Greek verb translated “lay up” is thesaurizete, from which we get the word thesaurus—a treasury of words. Jesus is using a play on words by saying, “Do not treasure up treasures for yourselves.” The context of the passage shows that He is referring to stockpiling or hoarding.

The Greek also conveys the idea of stacking or placing something horizontally, as one stacks coins. When something is stacked, it is not being used—it is in a passive condition. Conversely, whenever the Greek has the idea of a vertical sense, it speaks of an active use—being invested for some worthwhile purpose or goal. Jesus is here referring to wealth that is being placed in stacks—simply being stored for safekeeping; it is stored that way to make a show of wealth or to create an environment of lazy indulgence (cf.

Luke 12:16-21).

It’s clear from this passage, as well as from many others in Scripture, that Jesus is not advocating poverty as a means to spirituality. He only once told a person to “sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Matt. 19:21). In that particular case, the young man’s wealth was a barrier between him and the lordship of Christ. It was a test to see if he was fully committed to turning over the control of his life to Christ. His response proved he was not (v. 22).

Unlike the rich young man, you are a follower of Christ and are to be fully committed to Him, no matter what it may cost you. If you have that kind of commitment, you will seek God’s kingdom first instead of hoarding earthly possessions (cf. Matt. 6:33).

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask the Lord to help you live unselfishly, not hoarding earthly possessions.

For Further Study

Read Proverbs 3:9, 13-15; 8:10, 19; 16:16. What virtues are better than temporal riches?

 

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – For Everyone Who is Afraid to Fail and Doesn’t Want to Try

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Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:29

I recently had a discussion with a friend about how disappointments can turn into despair which can then turn into defeat. When this happens we may give up and decide not to take any more risks, because we aren’t sure if we can handle another failure. We may decide to play it safe which means we’ll never step outside our comfort zone. But there is a big problem with this decision because. . .

God always calls His kids outside their comfort zones. There just isn’t any way around it.

“Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well” (Ecclesiastes 11:4-6).

God will never give you full control. There will always be wind. There will always be clouds, and the way He works will always be shrouded in mystery. If you insist on knowing everything about how you will get from where you are to where you will be, you will never sow and therefore you will never reap. If you always focus on what could go wrong, you will never sow and you will never reap. If you insist on control, you will never sow and you will never reap.

Therefore, you must learn how to sow in uncertainty. But remember. . . it seems uncertain to you, but it’s never uncertain to Him. He is always certain. He is a certain God and His plans never fail.

“One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: ‘Power belongs to you, God’” (Psalm 62:11).

Prayer: Lord, it can be difficult at times to step out in faith when I don’t know how things are going to turn out. But thank you that you are sovereign. I can trust you because every plan you have made comes to pass. Help me to submit to your rule. Amen.

Application: Read a story of an Old Testament saint and make note of the times when God directed them through some sort of unfortunate event, failure or trouble to accomplish His will.

Related Readings: 2 Timothy 1:7; John 21:6; Joshua 1:9

By Shana Schutte

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Responding on Purpose

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In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Ephesians 1:11

Recommended Reading

Romans 9:11-18

When an adult does something surprising or unexpected, she may be asked, “Was quitting your job an impulsive act?” And the answer comes back: “No, I did it on purpose.” It was intentional, planned, and thoughtful. But when a child spills his milk, he may defend himself by saying, “I didn’t do it on purpose, Mommy!” It was an accident, something unplanned.

When the Bible speaks about God’s purposes, it never suggests that anything God does is accidental or arbitrary. Everything God does is intentional, planned, and thoughtful. Everything God does is on purpose. It is “predestined according to the . . . counsel of His will.” When we see the equivalent of spilled milk in life, it is important to view it through the lens of God’s purpose and God’s will. Trying to understand “why” is not the motivation. Rather, the motivation is developing trust and faith in God.

Look at life through purpose-colored lenses. See everything from God’s perspective. Trust that He is acting “according to the counsel of His will.”

If life is an accident, it cannot conceivably have any purpose, for accident and purpose are mutually exclusive.

John Blanchard

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Jeremiah 18 – 21

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Don’t Let the Devil Steal It

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For it is like a man who was about to take a long journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his property…. He who had received one talent also came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a harsh and hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you had not winnowed [the grain]. So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is your own.- Matthew 25:14, 24-25

Jesus often gave people illustrations containing life lessons that could be applied to common situations in which most anyone can find themselves at any given time. The -Parable of the Talents is such an illustration. A talent was the type of currency used in Jesus’ day. One talent is said to have been worth more than a thousand dollars. This par¬ticular parable describes a man who gave certain amounts of money to three of his servants with the instruction to invest it.

I find two very interesting points in this story. First, the landowner distributed the money according to each person’s ability. He didn’t try to burden his workers with more than they were capable of handling. The two men to whom he gave the most money invested wisely and doubled their investments. Upon the landowner’s return, they were made full partners in the business. The second thing I realized is that the two with the most ability used it wisely and were richly rewarded. The third man—the one with the least ability—failed.

Think about this. God didn’t ask the third man to invest five talents or even three. He knew this man wasn’t capable of handling such a task. He gave the third servant the least amount of responsibility, and that man still failed. Worse, he tried to justify his failure by blaming the master! But he also said something else—and that’s the secret to understanding this story: I was afraid and hid your talent in the ground (see v. 25).

He didn’t lose the money, but he did nothing with it. And the master responded, You wicked and lazy and idle servant! (v. 26). The spirit of fear had caused the man to do nothing.

Let’s turn that around. The owner said, Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received what was my own with interest (v. 27). Suppose the man had gone to the bank and invested as the owner suggested. He would never have made as much profit as the other two. And that would have been all right, because all that the owner asked was for him to do what he could—what was reasonably expected of him.

Continue reading Joyce Meyer – Don’t Let the Devil Steal It →

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – The Art of Listening

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Today’s Truth

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

James 1:19

Friend to Friend

I graduated from college with a degree in elementary education. For the first two years of college, I took the basic courses in Math, English, History, and Science required for all degrees. I then began taking courses that I assumed would prepare me to teach elementary school. During my last year of school, I reached the required Student Teaching block.

The Student Teaching block was spent in an actual elementary classroom under the supervision of an experienced teacher. Mrs. Roberta McShan was my supervising teacher and a magician in the classroom. She taught third grade and soon became my role model as a teacher. I learned more about teaching in that one semester than I had learned in all of the education courses I had taken.

Every child in her classroom absolutely adored Mrs. McShan. I watched carefully and soon learned why. One of most important lessons I learned from Mrs. McShan was the importance of listening and how to make the person you are listening to feel important.

When a child came up to ask a question, Mrs. McShan stopped what she was doing and turned toward the child. She then gently placed the fingertips of her hand under the chin of the child and tilted that little face up toward hers. She looked the child in the eye and listened to every word the child said. Everyone in that classroom knew they were not to interrupt if Mrs. McShan was listening to one of their classmates.

When I pray, that is how I picture the Father responding to me. He stops … turns toward me … and listens.

Every relationship begins with listening. Listening is hard work and something we are not prone to do well.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – The Art of Listening →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – True Spiritual Life

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“Only the Holy Spirit gives eternal life. Those born only once, with physical birth, will never receive this gift. But now I have told you how to get this true spiritual life” (John 6:63).

A businessman called to ask if he could bring one of his associates to talk to me about receiving Christ. As the three of us talked together, it became apparent that the businessman who arranged the meeting was not a Christian either. So after his friend had received Christ, I asked him if he believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.

“Yes,” he said.

“Do you believe that He died for your sins?”

“Of course.”

“Have you ever received Him into you life as your Savior and Lord?”

“No,” he said, “I haven’t.”

“Wouldn’t you like to do so?”

“Yes,” he said, “I would. But I have been waiting for that peculiar time when God would speak to me in a very emotional way.”

He explained that this was the way his mother had become a Christian, and he felt that this was the way he should become a Christian, too.

Once again I reviewed very simply the plan of salvation, explaining that only the Holy Spirit gives eternal life and there may or may not be an emotional experience accompanying the moment of salvation. I explained that salvation is a gift of God, which we receive by faith on the basis of His promise.

So together we prayed, and though I had explained that he should not expect any emotional experience, God graciously touched him in a very dramatic way emotionally, contrary to my own experience and that of the majority of people with whom I counsel and pray.

Bible Reading: John 6:60-65

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Realizing that no one can enter the kingdom of God apart from a spiritual birth, I will today pray for many opportunities to share the good news of God’s love and forgiveness in Christ with others.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Our Protection is in God

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Read: Jeremiah 11:1-20

But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. Jeremiah 11:20

Perhaps the central lesson of this book is what happened to Jeremiah as God prepared him to minister in a day of decay. He was called to a strange and difficult ministry. God gradually had to prepare him and toughen him increasingly for the assignments he was to be given in this nation. So Jeremiah was plunged into an even more difficult time than he had ever known before, a troubled time for the nation.

God sends young Jeremiah back to the nation with another word of warning and denunciation for the third time now in Jeremiah’s ministry, God tells him not to pray for this nation: Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble (Jeremiah 11:14 RSV).

This was what had distressed Jeremiah so much — that God would not even let him pray for them. He had laid a vocal quarantine on Jeremiah and had said, I do not want you to pray, for prayer delays judgment. This had great effect upon Jeremiah. From here on we are going to see God’s toughening of this young man in preparation for what was coming.

Jeremiah found something happening which absolutely threw him into consternation. He learned that there was a plot against his life by his own neighbors and friends. He tells us about it, beginning in Verse 18: The Lord made it known to me and I knew; then thou didst show me their evil deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. (Jeremiah 11:18-19a RSV) Jeremiah realized how naive and blind he had been to trust these neighbors and friends. Now he understood that they had plotted against his life.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Our Protection is in God →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – God’s Call Transcends Time

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Read: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (v. 12)

In this great passage on love, Paul speaks of how dimly we see things now, but how clearly we will see them later.

One day, after another hard day of new home construction in Mexico, the mission office asked one member of our team to come to their office. A family had come to visit this team member, who had built a home for them 16 years earlier. The family had heard that he was in Mexico building another home and drove 100 miles, and then waited several hours, just to see him and thank him for his help in building their home so many years before.

His service 16 years ago had helped transform their lives from a desperate situation to one of hope. Not only had they put their faith in Jesus, but they had also been able to give their children an education. Their older daughter was now in university and the younger boy was getting ready to attend school in the fall.

While we may not always get the opportunity to see the fruit of our service in this life, we can take joy knowing that in heaven we will see the impact of our efforts. How exciting to know that our sacrifices can make an eternal difference.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for giving us small glimpses of the eternal picture we will enjoy in heaven with you. Give us the will to make an eternal difference in the lives of others.

Author: Rob Donoho

 

https://woh.org/

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Revival in Nineveh

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The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” —Jonah 1:1–2

You might say that Jonah was the original chicken of the sea. When God told him to go to Nineveh and preach, his response essentially was, “No way! These people are wicked. I don’t want to go.”

It’s true the Ninevites were very cruel people. They were known for their savagery. In fact, when they would conquer a nation, they often would torture their prisoners before executing them and were known to burn boys and girls alive. They tortured others by tearing the skin from their bodies and leaving them to die in the scorching sun. Rather than hide this depravity, they celebrated it and proclaimed it. They even built monuments to their own cruelty.

Another reason for Jonah’s reluctance was that Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the enemy of Israel. Jonah, being a patriotic Israelite, thought this through and deduced that if he didn’t go and preach to the Ninevites, God would judge them—and that would be one less enemy Israel would have to deal with.

But with a little extra persuasion, Jonah finally went and preached to the Ninevites—and it resulted in the largest spiritual awakening in all the Bible.

Unbeknownst to the people of Nineveh, their days were numbered. Assyria was the reigning superpower on the planet at this time, having ruled for 200 years. It required three days to circle metropolitan Nineveh, which had a population of about one million. That was a very large city for ancient times. But it would not be all that long until Babylon would come and overtake her. God was giving Nineveh one last chance.

If God could use someone like Jonah to bring about a revival in Nineveh, then certainly He could use someone like you or me to bring about a revival in our nation.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – Jesus Deserves Your Best

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“Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair.” (John 12:3)

Imagine what would happen if your family were to invite the President of the United States over for dinner tonight. What would you do? Would you leave the house messy? Would your mom make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Would you set the table with paper plates and plastic forks? Of course not! You would clean your house until it was spotless. Your mom would cook her best meal and set the table with her finest dishes. You would give your best to the President of the United States.

Now imagine that Jesus were coming to your house for dinner. What would you do? In the Bible, Mary of Bethany knew what she would do. She bought a bottle of ointment, or perfume, just for Jesus. This ointment, called spikenard, had probably been imported all the way from India, and it was so expensive that, to afford it, a normal worker would have to save all of his money for a whole year!

Mary took the ointment to the room where Jesus sat. She opened the jar and poured it on His feet. Then, right in front of everyone, she began wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair. Some people thought she was crazy for spending that much money on Jesus, but Mary did not care. She knew how special Jesus was, and she wanted to give her best because He deserved it.

Jesus still deserves your best. You cannot pour expensive perfume on His feet today, but you can give to Him in many other ways. He deserves your time, so you can read the Bible and pray to Him. He deserves your money, so you can give some of your allowance in the offering at church. He deserves your best attitude, so you can joyfully obey Him. Sometimes, you may even find ways to make special sacrifices beyond your normal devotions and offerings and obedience. You, like Mary, can still give your best to God.

God deserves the best that you can give Him.

My Response:

» Am I giving my best to God today?

» What can I do to show Him how much I love Him?

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Unworthy Apostle

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Today’s Scripture: Ephesians 3:8

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints . . . grace was given.”

Paul freely acknowledged that he received his apostleship purely as a result of God’s undeserved favor. God used Paul’s testimony to encourage me at a time when I most keenly felt my complete unworthiness to write on the subject of personal holiness.

So is all ministry—whether teaching a children’s Sunday school class, witnessing to inmates at the local prison, or preaching to thousands of people each Sunday—performed by the grace of God by people who are unworthy to be doing it?

Harry Blamires had an incisive answer to that question: “In the upshot there is only one answer for the preacher who wonders whether he is worthy to preach the sermon he has composed or for the writer who wonders whether he is worthy to write the religious book he is working on. The answer is: of course not. To ask yourself: am I worthy to perform this Christian task? Is really the peak of pride and presumption. For the very question carries the implication that we spend most of our time doing things we are worthy to do. We simply do not have that kind of worth.”

In Romans 12:6, Paul described us as “having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” He was referring to spiritual gifts enabling believers to fulfill God-appointed ministry or service in the body of Christ. But note that Paul said these spiritual gifts are given according to God’s grace, not according to what we deserve. The Greek word for a spiritual gift is charisma, which means “a gift of God’s grace,” whether it is the gift of eternal life as in Romans 6:23 or the gift of a spiritual ability for use in the body. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – God, Our Refuge

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Today’s Scripture: Obadiah

He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. – Jeremiah 17:6

When I was a kid back in Iowa, we played a game called “King of the Mountain.” Someone would get up on a mound of dirt, and everyone else would try to get him off. There was one big kid we could never get off the hill. And he stayed on top until he was ready to come down.

In the book of Obadiah, we encounter the Edomites, who thought they were king of the mountain. But God saw things differently. “See,” [the Lord said], “I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord. (Obadiah 2-4).

I recall standing at the foot of the ancient Edomite capitol city of Petra, the stronghold from which the Edomites launched their raids. They thought they could get away with anything, but their invasion of Judah in 587 b.c. brought God’s judgment.

You don’t have to be an arrogant Edomite to trust in the wrong thing. Even Christians can make the mistake of trusting in hard work, physical appearance, finances. But all those sources of security and pride can be gone in an instant. We must keep our eyes on the Lord and trust in Him as our Rock and high tower.

Prayer

Lord, when I put my security in a fortress of my own making, bring me back to the shelter of God Most High. Amen.

To Ponder

Blessed is the man or woman who boasts in the Lord’s strength.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – The Election and the Judgment of God: ‘And God Gave Them Over’

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So, have you heard this one? Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are stranded at sea on a life boat. Who survives? Ha! America does!

Ok, now that I’ve offended everyone: What a bizarre election year this has been. As my BreakPoint this Week co-host Ed Stetzer has said quite a few times, “When political historians look back on the early 21st century, the phrase we’ll hear the most is, ‘except for 2016’.”

Now, despite the dire warnings from both candidates about the consequences of electing their opponent, the most important thing about this election is not who becomes president. The most important thing about this election is what it reveals about us as a society.

Nearly 40 years ago, in a famous speech at Harvard University, the great Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said: “There are meaningful warnings which history gives a threatened or perishing society. Such are, for instance, the decadence of art, or a lack of great statesmen.”

Talk about prophetic!

Folks, I might as well just say it: I am convinced that this election is an indication that God is judging America.

Now claiming to know God’s mind both for what and with what He is bringing judgment is theologically indefensible and only makes us look silly. (You may recall a few notable Christians who stuck their foot in their mouths after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina). And yet, as Stephen Keillor argued in his book “God’s Judgments,” it is also theologically indefensible to not acknowledge God’s working in history, including through acts of judgment.

And in this case, I am ready to say, God is judging our country. Why? As my colleague Roberto Rivera often says, “The five scariest words in the Bible are, ‘…and God gave them over’.”

Continue reading BreakPoint – The Election and the Judgment of God: ‘And God Gave Them Over’ →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE TRINITY AND THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY

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Read LUKE 4:14–21

The entire Trinity is involved in the work of salvation. As Philip Graham Ryken and Michael LeFebvre explain in Our Triune God: Living in the Love of the Three-in-One: “God plays the symphony of our salvation in three movements. Each movement is associated with a different Person of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. First, there is the work of God the Father in administering our salvation. The Father is the one who organizes and oversees the plan of salvation. Second, there is the work of God the Son in accomplishing our salvation. Jesus is the one who died on the cross for our sins and rose again to give us eternal life. Third, there is the work of God the Holy Spirit in applying our salvation. The Spirit is the one who takes what Jesus Christ has done and makes it ours. This is the plan, and the triune God has been working it out since before the beginning of time.”

We can see this beautiful truth in the fulfillment of messianic prophecy. Near the start of His public ministry, Jesus taught one Sabbath in His hometown synagogue in Nazareth. For the Scripture reading, He chose verses from Isaiah that described the Messiah as anointed by God, filled with the Spirit, and bringing good news of healing and freedom (vv. 18–19; Isa. 61:1–2). Stunningly, He then proclaimed, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21).

Jesus was filled with the Spirit (v. 14). He had been anointed by His Father and sent to bring the good news of salvation to a spiritually dead world. Miracles such as healing the blind helped validate His claims. He Himself was the fulfillment of the Father’s plan of redemption, and His arrival indeed heralded “the year of the Lord’s favor”!

APPLY THE WORD

Today, thank God—the Three-in-One—for the symphony of your salvation. Include thanks for His love that is the foundation for the work of salvation, the sovereign plan of the Father, the person and work of the Son, and the indwelling of the Spirit. Also ask God to show you how to live today in a way that reveals His love and salvation to others.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – MARTHA STEWART AND SNOOP DOGG TO HOST TV SHOW

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Martha Stewart is the bestselling author of more than eighty-five books and an Emmy-winning television show host. She reaches 100 million consumers each month across her media and merchandising platforms as well as her branded products. Snoop Dogg recently released his fourteenth album. He is active in music, film, television, and his YouTube channel.

The two just announced that they will host “Martha and Snoop’s Dinner Party” on VH1 this fall. According to Yahoo!, they will “invite celebrity friends over for a half-baked evening of cocktails, cooking, conversation, and fun where nothing is off limits.”

Their collaboration is an odd pairing, and not just because they’re three decades apart in age.

In 2004, Martha Stewart was convicted of felony charges for insider trading and served five months in a federal prison. She then served five months in home confinement as part of a two-year term of supervised release.

Snoop Dogg, born Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr., was arrested after high school for possession of cocaine. He has had numerous drug arrests in the years since. He has also been arrested several times for illegal possession of handguns and other weapons. He was banned from Australia in 2007 and Norway in 2012. Last year he was arrested in Sweden for illegal drug use.

My point is not that the two should not be able to host a television show together. It’s actually the opposite: there’s something in human nature that applauds redemption. When athletes overcome grave challenges to compete in the Olympics, we cheer especially hard for them. When politicians come back from defeat to achieve success, we often admire them. When celebrities are released from prison, many become even more popular.

Consider Suicide Squad, a movie in which supervillains save the world in exchange for more lenient prison sentences. Critics panned the film, but audiences have made it the highest-grossing August movie release in history. Will Smith, one of the actors in the film, explained its success: “There’s something about bad guys being given an opportunity at redemption that people can really respond to. . . . All of our characters have this slight tether back to our humanity.”

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